Montpelier Recreation Field is a

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

venue located in Montpelier,

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

, United States and is the home field of the

Vermont Mountaineers The Vermont Mountaineers are a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball team based in Montpelier, Vermont. The team, a member of the New England Collegiate Baseball League, plays their home games at Montpelier Recreation Field. Hist ...

of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

. The field has served as home of the Mountaineers since 2003.

History

The Montpelier Senators and the Twin City Trojans

The field was constructed in 1940 by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

, with support from the depression-era Federal Government, featuring a 1,200 seat capacity grandstand (which is still in use today) and bleachers down the firstbase and thirdbase lines. In the first decade of its existence, starting from 1941, it was home to the Montpelier Senators and, later the Twin City Trojans.

Robin Roberts

During this time the Robin Roberts played at Rec Field for the Twin City Trojans. He remembers his time at the Rec Field fondly: "It was a great experience ... you can't imagine a guy that age having a better summer then we had in Vermont." "We were really good then. I won 17 straight starts that year in Vermont." In 1976 he was inducted into the

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Vermont Mountaineers

When the league folded in 1952 Rec Field endured a half-century without a professional tenant. This ended in 2003 when the

voted to award a franchise to a local Montpelier baseball group. Since then the Rec Field has been the home of the

, enjoying high attendances and success on the field, with the Mountaineers reaching the post-season in six of their seven seasons, including an active six-year streak.

Full list of tenants

* 1941-1952 – Montpelier Senators of the Second Northern League. * 1941-1952 – Twin City Trojans of the Second Northern League. * 2003–present –

of the NECBL.

Attendance

In their inaugural season the Mountaineers enjoyed the highest average attendance in the league and have consistently been near the top of the league in this category since. Montpelier Recreation Field Grandstand

Notable events

*Robin Roberts Night, July 21, 2003. Robin took the mound at the Rec Field for the first time since 1947, throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in front of nearly 3,000 fans. *The 2004 NECBL All-Star Game drew 4,127 spectators to Montpelier Recreation Field, a then-NECBL record for highest All-Star Game attendance.All-Star Game 2004
at necbl.com *The 2012 NECBL All-Star Game was played at the venue on July 22, 2012.

Photo gallery

File:Montpelier Recreation Field Press Box.JPG File:Montpelier Recreation Field Center Field.JPG File:Montpelier Recreation Field Outfield.JPG

External links

Vermont Mountaineers website

NECBL website

References

{{NECBL Ballparks Sports venues in Vermont Minor league baseball venues New England Collegiate Baseball League ballparks Works Progress Administration in Vermont Buildings and structures in Montpelier, Vermont Baseball venues in Vermont 1940 establishments in Vermont Sports venues completed in 1940